​The UCEA conference on November 14-19th in Denver, Colorado was a rousing success. One of the Division A planning meetings was held with Dr. Michael Dantley, Dr. Susan Faircloth, Dr. Cristobal Rodriguez, Dr. Rosa Rivera-McCuthchen, Senior Rep, Wei-Ling Sun, and Jr. Rep. Donna Druery. Dr. Rivera-McCuthchen provided information on AERA proposals for 2018 in new York City. Their meeting was in the Bronx and she stated there were lots of proposals committed. One of the future ideas for the committee is working with universities that have meeting sites. The attendees also discussed the on-going planning information and decisions for Foster-Polite and the Dialogic Forum, along with the success of the Connect Series.

There will be several opportunities for positions will be available for the 2018-2020 school year. One of those positions will be for Junior Representative. Wei-Ling Sun (University of Texas) is currently serving as Division A Senior Representative and Donna Druery (Texas A&M University) is serving as Junior Rep. Please consider applying the Junior Rep position! Applications for Junior Representative will go out in January. Requirement: Must be a Graduate student until 2020.

UCEA Graduate student summit recap

From Nakia M. Gray-Nicolas, Ed.D., Dialogica Forum Chair and UCEA GSC Member:​The 2017 UCEA Graduate Student Summit brought in over 200 graduate students form partner institutions and even non-partner institutions. Graduate students were able to participate in roundtable sessions, paper sessions that included mentor feedback, and panel programming aimed at professional and person growth. To close the GSS, Master Professor Award winner Dr. Margaret Grogan shared tips for maintaining balance in academia.

apply for the foster polite scholarship

Presenting at AERA in NYC? Need travel funds?The Foster-Polite scholarship offers a $500 stipend to four graduate students who are members of Division A and who are accepted for the AERA Annual Meeting. Look out for an official call for applications in January. For inquiries please contactfosterpolitescholarship@gmail.com

Graduate students are often given the sage advice to publish in top tier journals and to have multiple publications under their belt by the time they graduate. Although, this is sage advice, it is no secret that many struggle to achieve this goal, while at the same time, publishing in a manner they feel is reaching educators and policy makers in an accessible, authentic medium. This panel of professors and graduate students speak candidly about how they grapple with this dilemma to continually work toward publications that are reflective of their passion for research and educational improvement. Graduate students will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the session and become aware of more diverse outlets for publication opportunities.

Facilitator: Amanda Jo Cordova, University of Texas at San Antonio

Participants: Juan Manuel Niño, University of Texas at San Antonio Julian Vasquez Heilig, California State University Sacramento Dessynie Edwards, Texas A&M University Gretchen Givens Generett, Duquesne University Bryan J Duarte, University of Texas at San Antonio ​Liliana Estella Castrellon, University of Utah

through the October Connect SEries

The Connect Series is an initiative sponsored by the AERA Division A Graduate Student Committee which features a sequence of virtual, real-time sessions broadcast monthly throughout the academic year.

Each session features different scholar/practitioner panelists and focuses on a unique theme related to educational leadership, organizations, and policy. The guest panelists for this session include Dr. Lisa Bass, North Carolina State University, and Dr. Martin Scanlan, Boston College.

with Your Committee Members

Junior Representative, Donna M. Druery is a PhD student in Educational Administration at Texas A&M University. Donna holds certifications in Superintendency, as an English Language Arts teacher, (6th -12th grade), and in College Teaching. In Summer, 2018, she will also hold a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the George Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University. Donna earned her M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Sam Houston State University and her B.A. in English with double minors in Business Administration and Speech Communication at Texas A&M University and an A.A. in Business Administration at Blinn College. Donna also serves as a Graduate Research Assistant and has worked on multi-million dollar grants related to English Language Learning and Acquisition. Her research focuses on charter school and school choice, educational policy-making at the national, state, and local levels, community-school-university collaboration, nonprofits, first generation college students’ access to college, social justice, and culturally responsive leadership and education. Donna volunteers her time in the community tutoring and assisting first generation college students with financial aid assistance, course arrangements, goal setting, and college enrollment applications.

​UCEA Publishing Session Chair, Amanda Cordova is a doctoral fellow at the University of Texas at San Antonio pursuing her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies. She has a master’s degree in Social work and Educational Leadership & Policy Studies. As a member of the AERA Division A Graduate Student Council, she is a lead reviewer for the Foster Polite Scholarship and Chair of the UCEA Publishing Session. Her research interests include gender inequity, educational patriarchy, social justice, and equitable educational pathways. She has worked as a social worker, teacher, and graduate research assistant.

​Connect Series Chair, Brandon Clark is a Ph.D. student and graduate research assistant in the Educational Leadership, Organizations, and Policy program in the School of Education at Iowa State University. His research interests include educational leadership for social justice, principal intersectionality, cross-cultural and international comparisons of effective leadership, and principals’ influence on student achievement. As a Connect Series Chair, Brandon facilitates a sequence of virtual, real-time sessions with scholars and practitioners that focus on unique themes related to educational policy, organization, leadership, and preparation. Brandon holds a M.S. in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies and a B.S. in Business with majors in Marketing and Management.

Greetings! I hope you have a relaxing and productive summer break. As many disheartening events happened all over the world in the past months, we as future leaders and researchers have more responsibilities than ever to set examples as global citizens. I am proud to announce that our new GSC team will continue creating an inclusive culture to serve our graduate student members and will keep carrying our Division A’s vision to not only prevent but also confront the prevalence of racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, Islamophobia, nativism, and all other –isms or phobias that dehumanize individuals and obstruct societal reforms. Our 2018 Graduate Student Committee members are a group of graduate students who are compassionate in various social issues with rich experiences in educational leadership, academic scholarship, and public service. All of our GSC members are active participants of AERA and UCEA. Many of them are either current or former AERA or UCEA fellowship/scholarship recipients. Our 2018 Junior Graduate Representative, Donna Druery, is a current Barbara Jackson Scholar with extensive experiences in mentoring women leaders.

It has been delightful working with this dream team. Our Junior Representative, Donna, has been busy shadowing all the tasks I am assigned to do. The Connect Series Co-Chairs, Brandon and Guillermo, incorporated our GSC members and graduate student members’ voices to finalize topics and guest speakers for the rest of the semester. The Communication Co-Chairs, Julie and Courtney, have been diligently updating and managing Div. A Graduate Student Corner newsletters and other social media platforms. Our lead reviewers, Davis, Amanda, and Abby, will work with the Dialogic Forum Chair, Nakia, and the Foster-Polite Scholarship Chair, Bryan, to select scholarship/fellowship recipients with outstanding scholarly works. Last, but not least, the UCEA Publishing Session Chair, Amanda, will work with UCEA and Division L graduate representatives to provide a publication mentorship session in the 2018 UCEA Convention in November.

I hope all of our Division A graduate student members are as excited as me about the wonderful services and opportunities our GSC team provides. You are part of this community; and your voices count. Your voices and feedback will help us provide an inclusive environment that reflects our members’ needs. If you have not yet followed any of our social media, please do.

Also, don’t forget to sign up our AERA Division A graduate student listserv. You can do that on the AERA official website. If you have, stay tuned. We will send out announcements soon!

Your committee members

Throughout the year, we will highlight our graduate students representatives:

Abby Mahone is pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at Lehigh University. Building on over 100 years of research, her dissertation utilizes quantitative analyses to investigate the relationship between how principals spend their time and school contexts, including student performance and academic growth. Additional research interests include principal preparation, teacher effectiveness, and school turnaround. Prior to her doctoral study, Abby taught for nearly a decade in independent and charter schools. Highlights of her teaching career include creating and implementing curriculum for a new environmental charter school, engaging sixth graders in the study of ancient history, and directing the yearly middle school musical. Abby holds a B.A. in Theatre from Muhlenberg College, as well as a M.Ed in Globalization and Educational Change from Lehigh University.

Nakia Gray-Nicolas is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at the Steinhardt School of Education, Culture and Human Development at New York University. Her dissertation research focuses on interrogating the purpose and effectiveness of and access to pre-college transition programs as they relate to the college readiness of traditionally marginalized populations. Nakia has over 10 years of combined experience in non-profit, secondary education, and higher education. Prior to entering her doctoral program, she worked at a non-profit organization as a program coordinator and eventually the youth services director, and then as a middle school English teacher. While enrolled in her program she worked as a college transition program director and now works as a college lecturer teaching first-year seminar and research courses. Nakia holds a B.A. in English from Cornell University and two Master of Science degrees (English Education and Inclusive Special Education) from the Syracuse University Graduate School of Education. Nakia is also an avid volunteer and continues to mentor high school and college students.

Davis Clement, M.Ed., is a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership at the William & Mary School of Education. Formerly, he taught middle school humanities to sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders in Little Rock, Arkansas. Davis was the editor-in-chief of the William & Mary Educational Review for two years, and he has three ongoing studies in schools at the moment: one on high school student engagement and resistance, another on the characteristics of vibrant school climates, and a longitudinal discourse analysis of large school district strategic planning in the age of NCLB/RttT/ESSA. His dissertation, which he expects to defend in spring of 2018, is a critical policy analysis and Critical Race counternarrative of the recent state takeover of Little Rock School District and dissolution of the Little Rock School Board. ​​

Graduate student publications

We want to recognize the publications of our Division A graduate students! If you have recently published a paper that you would like to be featured here, please email your communication co-chair, Julie Kallio.

Atef, A. & Mahdi, M. (2017). A teacher and students' transformation at a time of war: A case from Yemen. In S. Baily, F. Shahrokhi, & T. Carsillo (Eds.), Experiments in agency: a global partnership to transform teacher research (pp. 57-76). Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Struyve, C., Meredith, C., & Gielen, S. (2014). Who am I and where do I belong? The perception and evaluation of teacher leaders concerning teacher leadership practices and micropolitics in schools. Journal of Educational Change, 15(2), 203-230.

Paper Title: Educational Order and Decay: Oklahoma’s Political Experiences with the Common Core

Jason’s research explores the quick adoption and similarly quick rejection of the Common Core in Oklahoma, drawing on institutional theory, specifically Political Order and Decay. This theory draws out how political institutions reform the jobs they were created for, especially in the context of changing economic and fiscal conditions.

Most enjoyable at AERA: The Boyd mentoring session was really helpful to get honest, direct feedback about my work.

Future plans: Pursue tenure-track faculty position at a university or an administrative position in a school district.

Brandon Clark, Iowa State University

Brandon Clark

Paper Title: Principals’ Use of Teaching Effectiveness Rubrics in a Race to the Top Evaluation SystemBrandon’s research focuses on instructional leadership in a Race to the Top context, particularly how principals use a framework. The analysis was of the challenges and affordances of using a highly structured framework.Most enjoyable at AERA: Attended the Boyd workshop - great opportunity to connect with senior scholars in the field.

Future plans: Pursue tenure-track faculty position at a university

Bryan Duarte, University of Texas at San Antonio

Bryan Duarte

Paper Title: Hope Among Novice Teachers: A Study of Teachers’ Experience in High Poverty Schools​Bryan’s research was a pilot study of the lived experiences of first year teachers in schools serving predominantly low income, marginalized pupils. The focus was on at teachers’ perceptions of their working conditions, the school reforms being implemented, and what their career decisions are in the future. The career decisions are critical because these teachers are leaving the profession at much higher rates than their suburban peers. Trying to connect this with their perceptions and reforms might inform their decisions to leave.

Most enjoyable at AERA: Meeting other scholars in the field I’ve been reading about and finding different ways to look at my topic.

Future plans: Pursue tenure-track faculty position at a university

Chandler Patton Miranda, New York University

Chandler Patton Miranda

Paper Title: Educational Opportunities for Immigrant Youth: An Ethnographic Case Study of an International High School

Chandler’s dissertation is an ethnographic case study of a public school for immigrant students where the kids have been in the United States for less than 4 years. The school is part of a network that is working to provide educational opportunities for immigrant students, and despite the students scoring in the bottom quartile for English language exams, the school’s graduation rate is 80%. Her dissertation examines the school’s practices at the cultural level, everything from instruction and assessment to social and emotional support, as well as the larger sociopolitical context.

Most enjoyable at AERA: Connecting with colleagues who are doing immigration work across the country.

​We hope you had a great experience attending the 2017 AERA Convention at San Antonio. 2016-2017 Division A Graduate Student Council members worked very hard in order to provide best services and resources to our graduate students. Because of your participation and GSC members’ hard work, we are able to provide high quality of our various initiatives, including webinars, UCEA events, and scholarship/mentorship programs. We also hosted our two annual events at the 2017 AERA Convention—the Dialogic Forum and the Fireside Chat.

This year, we had our first GSC thank-you get-together orientation in San Antonio. Division A graduate students represent approximately 30% of Division A’s total membership, we are dedicated to have Division A and AERA hear our voices and continue to provide various platforms to our graduate student members. I am proud to announce that 2017-18 in-coming GSC members will keep this tradition in the following year. The new GSC members are a group of talented and resourceful individuals. Some of them are former participants of our scholarship/mentorship initiatives (e.g., Dialogic Forum, Foster-Polite Scholar, Clark Scholar); some of them have participated in AERA & UCEA events for years; some of them have publication experiences. We are going to have another great year in working with all of you!

Members of the Graduate Student Council meet to hand off responsibilities.

dialogic forum

​​The 2017 Division A Dialogic Forum was a great success with six faculty mentors and twelve graduate scholars in attendance at Friday's event during AERA. The Dialogic Forum matches graduate scholars, who have had their research-in-progress reviewed and accepted for submission, with faculty mentors from their fields in educational administration and leadership. After a wonderful breakfast and time of making connections, the scholars met with their mentors to receive feedback and guidance on their research. It was a privilege to lead, coordinate and organize this year's Dialogic Forum, and to work with the wonderful scholars and mentors who participated. The enthusiasm for this gathering was expressed in this year's evaluations, as participants indicated a very positive experience with some of them wishing for more time to learn from one another. This is a great model for collaboration, networking, advising and growth in research design. I hope even more scholars and mentors will participate next year!-Amy L. Gearhart, Chair

All 2017 Division A Dialogic Forum Mentors and Mentees

2017 Division A Graduate Students talking with their mentors about their research over a delicious breakfast.

More 2017 Division A Graduate Students talking with their mentors about their research over a delicious breakfast.

And more 2017 Division A Graduate Students talking with their mentors about their research over a delicious breakfast.

fireside chat

​Division A's Fireside Chat Focused on STEM Education and Leadership: Equitably Accessing the Playing Field. Dr. Issam Abi-El-Mona moderated the panel. With over 25 years of teaching experience in science and math education combined across elementary, middle and high school, Dr. Abi-El-Mona's teaching practices emphasize current science education reform strategies, mainly inquiry based models and the use of scientific argumentation. He has taught in overseas American international schools. He is a published author of both research based science education journals and science curriculum textbooks. He has worked with the United Nations on global education development programs and has participated in the development of science curricula implemented in the Middle East.Among his various services, Dr. Abi-El-Mona is the founding chair of the Department of STEAM Education at Rowan University and currently chairs that department. He heads the science education program at Rowan University and co- directs as well as coordinates outreach training programs with the College of Engineering and Science and Math departments as well as regional school districts.

Distinguished panelists included Dr. Alexis Martin, Dr. Erin Peters-Burton, and Dr. Tia Madkins. Dr. Alexis Martin is the Director of Research at the Kapor Center for Social Impact, where she conducts research on issues of access and opportunity in the technology pipeline. Prior to her work with the Kapor Center, Dr. Martin taught future educators at U.C. Berkeley & Sonoma State University and worked with teachers in professional development inquiry groups examining equity in their classrooms. She has also taught high school social studies and done outreach with students who were the first in their families to attend college.

Dr. Peters-Burton's experience as an engineer and a secondary science teacher for 15 years helps her relate research to practice in science and engineering education. She has won several state and national awards for her work in secondary science education and holds a National Board Certification in Early Adolescent Science. In 2005, Dr. Peters-Burton was selected as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow for the NASA where she advised the agency in their development of curriculum for teachers across the United States. Her work at NASA led her to be chosen as a member of the committee developing the first K-12 National Engineering Standards. In addition to her work with science education in Virginia and nationally, she spends time doing classroom research in developing student scientific epistemologies. Her work has shown promise in demonstrating a connection between content knowledge and nature of science knowledge. She continues to develop research projects that investigate ways that students and teachers can utilize self-regulation not only to learn scientific knowledge but also to learn how scientific knowledge is developed and validated.

Dr. Tia Madkins is the postdoctoral scholar for the Trustey Family STEM Teaching Fellows in the Center for STEM Education at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Madkins’ research interests include K-12 STEM teaching and learning with emphases on equity-focused elementary science education and teacher education. Her research also focuses on teacher workforce diversification with an emphasis on increasing the number of Black women in teaching via alternate routes into the teaching profession. The panelist discussed the following central question: How do we [STEM educators- practitioners and leaders] transform the power of STEM knowledge and scholarly discourses into public will, engaging practice, and responsive policy?

The discussion included the panelists thoughts on:

How do you identify STEM education?

How is that identification different from the perceptions of STEM afforded by current policies in the nation?

In what way(s) do you envision equal opportunity in STEM education affordable to all students now and the future?

Gender, race and ethnicity have been identifiers of academic achievement gaps among students. For instance, test scores on the NAEP Mathematics tests for 4 and 8th graders have shown a persistent 20+ achievement gap for at least two decades among whites and their black and Hispanic counterparts. However, NAEP scores also show that all students have higher average scores for example in 2011 than they did in 1990. Does this mean that we are improving in STEM education? Please elaborate with a focus on what factors you feel are major barriers or facilitators for addressing equal opportunity in STEM Education.

What are the pathways to achieving equal educational opportunity in STEM Education?

What implications do such pathways have towards STEM Educational leadership? What are your thoughts on how that looks/ will look like in our K-12 school system? In higher education?

In summary, where do you currently see equal opportunity and leadership in STEM education heading towards? What implication(s) will that have on K-12 and higher education institutions?

Those attending engaged in the discussion with the panelists in an interactive way and greatly enjoyed the conversation as we grappled with current issues in STEM Education and Leadership.

​​Division A Business Meeting

​The Division A Business Meeting provided graduate students with an excellent opportunity to network with established and emerging scholars in the field. It also offered a glimpse at the work that is being done across the various Division A committees, such as the Equity, Inclusion, and Action Committee, and the extensive time and planning that goes into organizing the high-quality conference sessions at AERA. In addition to updates on graduate student membership, newsletter readership, and the newly reestablished Early Career Mentoring Seminar Program, this year’s Division A award winners were recognized for their outstanding work. Dr. Terrance Green (University of Texas at Austin) received the Emerging Scholar Award and Dr. Lauren Bailes (University of Delaware) received the Outstanding Dissertation Award. This year’s Foster-Polite Scholarship awardees were also recognized: Brandon Clark (Iowa State University), Chandler Patton Miranda (New York University), Bryan Duarte (University of Texas at San Antonio), and Jason Burns (Michigan State University). Following the business meeting, as part of the Division A/Division L/UCEA/Sage Publications joint reception, this year’s Clark Scholars presented their research posters. Overall, attendance at the business meeting and reception was a great way for graduate students to get more involved in the division and develop networks of support with faculty and fellow students.

Hello, everyone! We are looking forward to serving on the Division A Graduate Student Committee for 2017-18. As your Communications Co-Chairs we are tasked with advertising all Division A graduate student events and opportunities. We also help keep you informed by contributing to the Division A Newsletter. Make sure you subscribe to the AERA Division A Grad Student listserv and follow us on social media.

You can use our social media communication channels to engage in key discussions, content sharing, and professional networking. We look forward to connecting with as many members as we can, both in-person and virtually. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions and ideas!

Courtney Mauldin

Julie Kallio

Upcoming News and Events

AERA Proposals: The Foster-Polite Scholarship

The purpose of the Foster-Polite Scholarship is to recognize and promote scholarly excellence in doctoral students who are enrolled in an educational administration/school leadership program. The Scholarship awards $500 travel stipends to four graduate students, who have single or first authorship on a paper accepted to a Division A session or a related SIG session during the AERA Annual Meeting. Be sure to look for full application announcements beginning in late November.

The Connect Series

The Connect Series brings together graduate students, scholars, practitioners, and policy makers through virtual meetings. Sessions will focus on current policy and practice issues related to the Division A themes: leadership, school organization and effects, school improvement, school contexts and communities, and leadership development.

Wei-Ling Sun is a Ph.D. candidate in the Educational Policy and Planning Program with a special interest in women and gender studies at The University of Texas at Austin. After earning her B.A. degree in English literature, Wei-Ling served as an English/Language Arts teacher and a school administrator in seven years in Taiwan. While earning her M.Ed. degree in a cooperative superintendency program, she also served as a student teacher and completed administration internships in public school central offices in school districts in Austin area.Currently, Wei-Ling’s research includes the influence of K-12 social justice education leadership from women of color feminist perspectives, school discipline policy reforms, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders identity politics in public schools. On these and related topics, she has testified in Texas legislature sessions, conduct policy research independently and collectively, and evaluates education policies. Wei-Ling serves as a research associate of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies (CCRR) at UCLA’s Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, where her work primarily focuses on national-level data management and policy analysis in regards to the issues of racial disproportionality in school discipline. After working as a teaching assistant and graduate research assistant with professors in the Department of Educational Administration, Wei-Ling also serves as a senior graduate student representative of AERA Division A, a UCEA policy associate, and a proposal and academic manuscript reviewer. She is very passionate about and committed to conducting research that can provide direct and positive impacts in communities of color in education. (Retrieved from https://education.utexas.edu/departments/educational-administration/public-school-executive-leadership/education-policy-planning-program/graduate-student-profiles/wei-ling-sun.)

​Message from Emma Bullock, Senior Representative​It has been a tremendous honor to serve as the 2016-17 Division A Graduate Senior Representative this year. I have had the wonderful opportunity to work across divisions with other graduate representatives and with the most outstanding committee. Naomi Lawrence-Lee at Texas Southern University and Jessica Schwartzer at George Mason University have elevated our Connect Series to a whole new level and I encourage everyone to check out our archived webinars. Tara Wilson at George Washington University facilitated an exceptionally well-attended Publishing Mentorship Session at UCEA in which members from both Divisions A and L dialogued with a panel of faculty which helped to demystify the publishing process. Jason Ribeiro at the University of Calgary and Alison Wilson at the University of Oklahoma published our most diverse, knowledgeable, consistent, and reliable newsletter on Division A Graduate News to date and communicated our events far and wide utilizing social media. LaTanya Dixon at the University of Mississippi, with our exceptional lead reviewers, Craig DeVoto at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Mark McKinney at the University of New England, and Nakia Gray-Nicolas at New York University, helped review and select our four Foster-Polite Scholarship awardees who each received a $500 stipend to present their research in San Antonio this year. Finally, Amy Gearhart at the University of Missouri-Columbia and our lead reviewers have put together our seminal mentoring session at the annual meeting, the Dialogic Forum, in which 14 students have been paired with exceptional faculty mentors. I have really enjoyed working with Division A and I anticipate many years of collaboration in the future as I accept my first faculty position in the Fall at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Wei-Ling Sun at the University of Texas at Austin will take over as the Senior Representative after our annual meeting and I know she will do a phenomenal job. Thank you for the honor to serve and I will see you all in San Antonio!

Message from LaTanya Dixon, Foster-Polite Scholarship Chair

As my second term as the Foster-Polite Scholarship Chair has been nearing an end, I recently became more curious about the scholars whom the graduate student award honored. While sitting in my advisor's office last month, I told her my interest in learning more about the scholarship's namesakes. She immediately named Lenoar "Len" Foster and Vernon Polite. Then she referred me to Linda Tillman, who was vice president of AERA Division A when the scholarship was created. Although I spoke with Linda Tillman by phone, I could hear the respect and joy saturating her words as she described Len Foster and Vernon Polite.

Vernon Polite was Dean of the College of Education at Eastern Michigan University at the time of his death in 2010. Len Foster was Interim Dean of the College of Education at Washington State University when he died in 2009. Both men were "influential scholars and willing and influential mentors to graduate students and untenured professors," said Linda Tillman. When she attended AERA for the very first time, Vernon Polite was the first person who said hello to her. She also recalled Vernon Polite being a pioneer in research on educational leadership and also co-authoring with James Earl Davis one of the first books on African American males in education and society. I was intrigued as Tillman described Len Foster as a scholar with whom she co-edited a book on African Americans in the principalship and as someone who was active in AERA Division A and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). At that moment in our conversation, I realized that Len Foster was likely a scholar opening the path for P-16 educational leadership long before it was a trending issue. I also knew it was a privilege that I have been able to oversee the administration of this prestigious award.

With this knowledge of the scholars, educators, mentors, and leaders whom the Foster-Polite Scholarship honors, I hope graduate students who have received and will receive the award in the future understand the educational leadership shoulders upon which they and their work stand. May the academy say about us emerging scholars what Linda Tillman recalled a colleague saying about Len Foster and Vernon Polite at the establishment of the Foster-Polite Scholarship: "They gave us so much, but they never asked for anything back."

Message from Amy Gearhart, Dialogic Forum Chair

The Dialogic Forum is an opportunity for graduate students to review their developing research with faculty mentors from related fields from throughout the nation. Graduate students submitted applications for the Forum, which were blind reviewed for relevance to the 2017 Annual Meeting Theme and fit with one of Division A's five sections: (a) leadership, (b) school organization and effects, (c) school improvement, (d) school contexts and communities, or (e) leadership development. Thirteen graduate researchers (or pairs) were accepted and they will be matched with faculty who will hear their presentations, provide constructive feedback, and explore how their research relates to emerging trends in the sections of Division A.

The Dialogic Forum is scheduled for Friday, April 28, 8:15-9:45 a.m., and is open to accepted grad students and faculty only. Breakfast will be served and presentations will be made by each researcher prior to time with the faculty mentors.

This is my first AERA meeting and experience with Division A. I dove in by saying “yes!” to a listserv invitation to apply for Division A leadership. I’m new to higher education from a previous career, and I wanted to immerse myself in the professional association and development opportunities that AERA provides. I’ve enjoyed meeting so many other grad students from around the country and learning more about their research interests. I’m looking forward to being at the Annual Meeting in San Antonio to finally put faces with so many names and find my place in the collegial world of higher education leadership and administration.

Message from Craig DeVoto, Nakia Gray-Nicolas, and Mark McKinney, Lead Reviewers​Hi, everyone! We are excited to serve as Lead Reviewers on the Division A Graduate Student Committee for 2016-17. As Lead Reviewers, we are tasked with supporting the chairs of the Dialogic Forum and the Foster-Polite Scholarship by reviewing applications for the forum and the scholarship. Through a blind review process we are able to critically assess applications in order to highlight exemplary scholarship from our fellow Division A graduate students.

Nakia Gray-NicolasLead ReviewerNew York University​​Nakia Gray-Nicolas is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at the Steinhardt School of Education, Culture and Human Development at New York University. Her dissertation research focuses on interrogating the purpose and effectiveness of, and access to, pre-college transition programs as it relates to the college readiness of traditionally marginalized populations. Nakia has over 10 years of combined experience in non-profit, secondary education, and higher education. Prior to entering her doctoral program, she worked at a non-profit organization as a program coordinator and eventually the youth services director, and then as a middle school English teacher. While enrolled in her program she worked as a college transition program director and now works as a college lecturer teaching first-year seminar and research courses. Nakia holds a B.A. in English from Cornell University and two Master of Science degrees (English Education and Inclusive Special Education) from the Syracuse University Graduate School of Education. Nakia is also an avid volunteer and continues to mentor high school and college students.

Jason RibeiroCommunications Co-ChairUniversity of Calgary

Jason Ribeiro (B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed.) is a Ph.D. student at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada working out of the Leadership, Policy and Governance unit. He has served as a K-12 teacher, private consultant, student government representative and community leader. As Communications Co-Chair, Jason manages Division A's social media accounts and presence online. His current research aims to inform education leadership capacity to shape, lead and sustain emergent schools/systems looking to innovate. Jason also holds a prestigious SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Government of Canada's National Research Council.

"It has been my distinct privilege to serve on Division A's GSC this year and encourage many of my fellow graduate students to get involved in division-level leadership. It is a truly rewarding experience! I look forward to connecting with many of you at our Annual Meeting in San Antonio and via distance in the future. Please follow our Division A Twitter account @DivisionAGSC and me at @jason_ribeiro. Lead on!"

​Alison WilsonCommunications Co-ChairUniversity of Oklahoma

Alison Wilson is a Ph.D. student in Educational Administration, Curriculum, and Supervision at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to her doctoral studies, she is a full-time graduate research assistant in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies department. For the past two years, she has worked under an AERA research grant sponsored by NSF titled “How do school leaders support student opportunity to learn.” Her research interests include opportunity to learn, organizational and social structures in schools, school leadership, school improvement, ethical leadership, and educational equity. In addition to serving as Communications Co-Chair for the Division A Graduate Student Committee, Alison is a Graduate Student Representative and Newsletter Managing Editor for the Leadership for School Improvement (LSI) SIG. She also serves as the Editorial Assistant for the Values and Ethics in Educational Administration (VEEA) journal. In 2015, she received the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA) Graduate Student Summer Fellowship, which funded her work with the OU center affiliate to the Consortium for the Study of Leadership and Ethics in Education (CSLEE). Alison has five years of experience as a secondary language arts teacher and three years as department head in a large public school district in Oklahoma. She received her B.A. in English from the University of Central Arkansas and completed her M.Ed. in Educational Administration, Curriculum, and Supervision at the University of Oklahoma.

Tara A. Wilson is a doctoral candidate in Educational Administration and Policy Studies at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the American Educational Research Association and University Council for Educational Administration Graduate Student Councils, where she serves as the Publishing Session Chair. She also serves as Student Representative on the Consortium for Research on Educational Assessment and Teaching Effectiveness (CREATE) board. Tara has six years of teaching experience and is currently a fourth grade teacher at Maud Abrams School in Cape May, New Jersey. She earned her M.Ed. in Reading Education and her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida. In 2015, she was honored as her Teacher of the Year at Odyssey Middle School in Orlando, Florida. Her dissertation research is focused on the coaching and mentoring of assistant principals. She is particularly interested in the methods used to prepare assistant principals for upward career ascension within school leadership.